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News Alert!: Wireless Network Transitioned to New Owner and Operator
I am extremely excited by the news we are announcing today. This new partnership enables us to reboot the entire Wireless Philadelphia initiative and reignite our citywide movement for Digital Inclusion. We offer special thanks to Mayor Nutter and key members of the Administration, notably Clay Armbrister, Terry Phillis and Michael Athay. Thanks also to Councilman Green, the new investor group and network operator, Wireless Philadelphia Board, staff, and key members of the extended Wireless Philadelphia team, and current and future funding and community partners working with us to achieve the vision of The Entire City – Connected.
Here is the press release announcing the new deal:
MAYOR NUTTER ANNOUNCES NEW DEAL EXPECTED TO BRING FREE WIRELESS TO PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia, June 17, 2008 – Today, Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Wireless Philadelphia have reached an agreement with a local investor group to take over operations for Philadelphia's Wireless Initiative. Under the terms of the deal, the local investor group is assuming operation of the existing EarthLink infrastructure and will enhance and expand the network as part of their plan to eventually bring free wireless to the City. Philadelphia is excited about this opportunity to become the first major city in America to provide wireless access to all of its citizens at no cost.
The deal to revive the Wireless Philadelphia Initiative came together quickly, thanks to the commitment and hard work of City Councilman Bill Green, EarthLink, the Mayor's Office, the Law Department, MOIS and the Managing Director's Office. The Mayor's Office also contracted with a local, independent consultant to analyze the merits of the deal and ensure that it was structured correctly to meet the ultimate goal of digital inclusion.
“This network is a valuable asset to this City and I thank everyone involved for their hard work to preserve it,” said Mayor Nutter. “I am so pleased that my Office was able to partner with non-profit, for-profit and community groups to get this deal done. This is an important first step to reducing the digital divide.”
There is a transition period, during which the local investor group will assess the current state of the network and create a plan and timeline to bring the network up to specification. During this time, service will continue to current digital inclusion customers subject to interruptions for network upgrades. The local investor group will fund citywide free wireless by providing integrated wired/wireless telecommunications services for large customers such as hospitals, universities and wireless extensions as well as moving to an advertising based revenue model.
“EarthLink is pleased to have transferred ownership of our Philadelphia municipal wireless network and applaud Mayor Nutter for his efforts,” said Rolla P. Huff, EarthLink's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We will work closely with the new owner, our partners and our Wi-Fi customers on a smooth transition of the Wi-Fi network. We believe this is a positive outcome for our shareholders and the Philadelphia community.” For further information about EarthLink, please call Chris Marshall at (404) 748-6217.
“We are extremely grateful to Mayor Nutter and key members of his administration, Councilman Green, the investors,” said Greg Goldman, CEO of Wireless Philadelphia. “This partnership brings a new business model to the network, will offer free connectivity to hundreds of thousands of residents, and re-establishes Philadelphia's position as an international leader in municipal connectivity and digital inclusion.” For further information about Wireless Philadelphia, please call Greg Goldman at (215) 990-5998 or David Brown at (856) 397-5437.
“On behalf of the company founders, I would like to express our gratitude to the investors who are fully committed to our vision,” said Rick Rasansky, co-founder of the local investor group. “They have understood from the beginning the importance of this initiative to this administration, area residents and local business enterprises. We look forward to working with Mayor Nutter, Councilman Bill Green and local not-for-profit groups to keeping WiFi in Philadelphia.” For further information about the local investment group, please call Vince Powers at (215) 568 2525.
posted by Greg Goldman @ 06.17.08 | 24 Comments
I can connect to the internet enough to type this message. I'm thankful for the free service provided. I was and still am willing to pay for a better wifi.
What is the status of a wifi connection/service with higher connection speeds?
Free/Subscription based
Weeks, Months or Years?
I can be patient but as mentioned before by someone else I will not be holding my breath.
This is great news for us all. Thanks to all who have made this possible.
Posted by H. Jones | June 28, 2008
Can any of the Earthlink subcribers get on-line yet?
My modem is only scanning, not hooking into anything.
I agree with Beth's comment insofar as Earthlink is possibly the worst business I have ever dealt with, the fact that the service didn't actually work was just the icing on the cake.
I would be interested to know what the projected timeline is for this new version and whether it might happen yet in the next few months or by the end of the year.
Hey,
I am very glad we have all of this great stuff happening for the wireless system, however I feel like some information is missing. When will we expect more news updates about the new network company? And will there be a status page setup to keep everone in the loop?
wi-fi never worked,how do you expect it to work with a bunch of nodes& no tower.
Posted by keith | June 21, 2008
I was thrilled to find out that, after all, we were not left out without wifi connection. As a Retired Teacher living on a budget, FREE access is like music to my ears. THANKS Philadelphia!
Posted by Vivian Rodriguez | June 20, 2008
My original plan was to sign up for the Earthjlink WIFI system. However, it never made it to my neighborhood in Roxborough. Will this new company service the Roxborough section?
Posted by feudi | June 20, 2008
I've been a wifi customer for 10 months and feel qualified to make this comment: I really want this system to work.Good luck and I won't hold my breath.
will the wireless be avaiable in different neighbor area as well as the businesses like earthlink wireless was that I had and I live i S.P near 23rd and wolf st. Do they know I soon it will begin. And if wireless is on my labtop are you saying i will beable to connect free and don't need a moderm or anything.
Posted by darlene | June 20, 2008
Lets not forget the Roxborough area,its a part of the great city of philly.Eartlink never finished that area.I'll pay if it works,sothat I can go to valley green and use my laptop.
shackdom@people pc.com
8200Henry ave.
It's good to see that Philadelphia is getting on with its' wireless plans. Earhtlink was a good service (though sometimes it was hard to connect to), but it left a lot to be desired as far as stability (both establishing and maintaining a connection) is involved.
Posted by Donnita Pearson | June 20, 2008
I agree with Beth, the system needs to be looked at to properly distribute the signal across the city. Only reason such outages occur is because alot of the Tropos device just can't see each other due to buildings and other line of sight issues. I am sure the new group will get someone in who knows how to handle the signal better.
You mislead people on this. You are part of this crew telling us one thing, when in fact they are getting free money to do something else. TEll the public this will not work in their homes, and what does will be very weak.
Posted by Joey | June 20, 2008
Congratulations! This is great news for Philly destined to be a truly 21st century city.
Posted by Jim | June 19, 2008
I am so pleased at the good news of restarting a great project!
Get up! Get running! The whole world awaits at a "click".
How can I get the Service,
Posted by Norman Roye | June 19, 2008
I've been looking for the completion of the system for a long time. There is a router 30 feet outside my study window that has not been turned on for a year. The closest active zone is two blocks away. I'm an officer in a NP Org who would like to use his laptop at meetings to access data from an online server, but have been unable to because coverage is so spotty, and not available in areas where we operate. The promise was great, the execution faulty.
Posted by Wes | June 19, 2008
Beth said exactly what I was thinking. As a subscriber from July 2007-May 2008, my internet experience was treacherous to say the least. I'm now happily with Verizon DSL and I've never had a bad day with it.
Posted by Kyle | June 18, 2008
OK!!! Sweet now this is more like it. I am glad to see something was in the works after all. Now, hopefully this new group has people who will be doing local feild testing and not feild testing from a small office in Atlanta Georgia.
I am very happy that there going to try to get the free wifi happening, as long as it's tested and people are given an open area to voice where placeses need to be tweaked this could work. Hats off to WP!
How do I reconfigue the signal booster. I have tried to clear it but it still trys to go to earthlink.
Posted by bruce | June 18, 2008
This can work.Its a lot of fun sitting outside in the summer with a labtop.I was very upset when earthlink pulled the plug.Internet radio is a blast.
Posted by R.Ross | June 17, 2008
I hope that part of the new plan centers on fixing the awful system that earthlink had in place before expanding further. As a subscriber to the service for a period of 9 months, I can say it was truly the worst service I have ever utilized- or rather tried to utilize as it rarely worked and I was promised solutions and updates on a weekly basis for a 3 month period of time. Free service is a nice idea- but I'd rather pay for something that works and I can rely on.
Posted by Beth | June 17, 2008
How will advertisements be delivered to ad-support the effort?
Posted by Pallav Negi | June 17, 2008
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